Our bowl of this delicious soup

Just over a year ago, Maggie and I returned from the Northern Territory at the end of a wonderful two weeks of travel experiences, including two days in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The accommodation for our Uluru-Kata Tjuta visit was a hotel – Sails in the Desert – where the main bar offered a smart and varied menu of bar-bites and light meals. One lunchtime, I decided to try a bowl of their soup for which cauliflower and blue cheese were the key ingredients. It was very tasty, without being too rich in flavour or texture.

Once home, I found a recipe which, with a bit of tweaking, produced a similarly delicious result. After some further minor adjustments, this is how I prepare it.

Ingredients

500g cauliflower florets, weighed after trimming
40g butter
2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
salt and white pepper
1½ cups stock, extra
80-100g blue cheese (to suit), chopped coarsely
60ml cream
3 tbsp (60ml) chopped parsley

Method

1. Remove the cheese from refrigerator at least 2 hours ahead and chop while it is still firm
2. Pre-heat oven to 170C
3. Place the cauliflower florets in a baking pan
4. Melt the butter with about 200ml of stock and pour it over the cauliflower and put the pan in the oven on the middle level
5. Bake the cauliflower for about 40 minutes, turning after 20 and 30 minutes, until the florets are tender and caramelised on their edges. During the cooking, add more of the remaining 300ml of stock in batches to prevent the pan from becoming too dry and burning the butter
6. Once the baked cauliflower is cool enough, transfer it and any pan juices to a food processor. Add as much of the remaining stock as needed to make it easy to process to a smooth puree.
7. Transfer the puree to a saucepan and add any remaining stock. (If necessary, use some stock to help you remove the puree from the food processor.)
8. Heat the soup until it comes to a very gentle
9. Add the blue cheese and stir gently until it has all melted; this might take several minutes. Add the cream, stir it through and bring the soup back to a simmer.
10. Serve immediately and sprinkle with parsley, to taste.
11. Leftovers should be reheated carefully if using a saucepan, to prevent the soup from catching on the base of the pan.

Cheers for now!
Rick Grounds